Miriam Makeba used her voice to entertain, but also to give a voice to millions of oppressed fellow South Africans who suffered as a result of apartheid. The price she had to pay for her actions was high, namely her South African citizenship. After she appeared, in 1960, in the an anti-apartheid documentary Come Back, Africa, the South African regime banned her from returning to her home country and took away her citizenship.
This event didn't stop her from continuing to raise her voice against the apartheid regime. Between 1964 and 1975, as a United Nations delegate of Guinea where she was granted asylum, Miriam Makeba addressed the General Assembly of the United Nations regularly on the tragic developments in South Africa.
Meanwhile she carried on singing, a process in which she put South African music on the map. Over the years Makeba worked with artists as Joe Sample, Stix Hooper, Arthur Adams, and David T. Walker of The Crusaders. In the late 1980's she joined Paul Simon and Ladysmith Black Mambazo during their world-wide Graceland tour and in 1990 she worked with Odetta and Nina Simone for the One Nation tour.
Following Nelson Mandela's release from prison, the citizen of the world Makeba returned to South Africa in December 1990; more than thirty years after she went in exile. In April 1991 she performed her first concert in her homeland in three decades.
The years after were busy ones for Makeba. She starred in the South African award-winning musical Sarafina! , about the 1976 Soweto youth uprisings, playing the role of the title character's mother. She then reunited with her first husband, trumpeter Hugh Masekela, for the Tour Of Hope. She also performed at the Vatican's Nevi Hall during the world-wide broadcasted show, Christmas In The Vatican. In 2000 Makeba released the grammy-nominated Homeland, her first studio album in a decade. In 2002 she shared the Polar Music Prize with Sofia Gubaidulina, in recognition of her exceptional achievements in the creation and advancement of music.
After her return to South Africa Miriam Makeba recorded over ten albums. In 2004, at the age of 72, she relased Reflections honoring the tenth anniversary of the end of apartheid in South Africa. In that same year Makeba was voted 38th in the Top 100 Great South Africans. She also started a 14 month worldwide farwell tour in 2005, holding concerts in all countries she had visited during her life.
With an impressive career spanning more than four decades Miriam Makeba is, indeed, one of the most respected, loved and cherished treasures in (South) Africa.
On the early morning of 10th of November 2008 she died at the age of 76 after being taken ill near the southern Italian town of Caserta, after performing at a concert against organized crime.
Source: Miriam Makeba, A true South African musical Legend
Discography on last.fm
External links:
Official website
Unofficial website
Movie database
Hapo Zamani
Miriam Makeba Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Hapo zamani, shauri ya pombe
Nindibona ndilinxila nje kungenxa yamabhulu
(I am a drunk because of the Afrikaner white man)
Nindibona ndingenakhaya nje kungenxa yabelungu
(I am homeless because of the whites)
Nindibona ndizula nje kungenxa yabelungu
(I am a hobo because of the whites)
Baleka bhulu (Run white man)
Sizobuya (We'll come back)
Sizobuy' ekhaya (we'll come back home)
The song "Hapo Zamani" by Miriam Makeba is a poignant commentary on the effects of colonization on the indigenous people of Africa. The first two lines, "Hapo zamani, sikuya (sikuwa) hivi / Hapo zamani, shauri ya pombe" can be translated to "In the past, we were not like this / In the past, we did not have a problem with drinking."
These two lines set the tone for the rest of the song, where Makeba sings about the ways in which the arrival of white colonizers has negatively impacted the lives of the African people. The lines "Nindibona ndilinxila nje kungenxa yamabhulu / Nindibona ndingenakhaya nje kungenxa yabelungu / Nindibona ndizula nje kungenxa yabelungu" are particularly powerful, as they express the sentiments of many Africans who have been dispossessed of their land, homes and means of livelihood due to colonization. Makeba's hauntingly beautiful voice captures the pain and suffering of the African people, while also conveying their resilience and determination to reclaim what has been taken from them.
Overall, "Hapo Zamani" is a moving tribute to the struggles of the African people, and a call to action for those of us who have benefited from colonialism and its aftermath to be more aware of our privilege and work towards a more just and equitable world.
Line by Line Meaning
Hapo zamani, sikuya (sikuwa) hivi,
In the past, things were not like this,
Hapo zamani, shauri ya pombe
In the past, drinking was the solution
Nindibona ndilinxila nje kungenxa yamabhulu
I am seen as a drunkard because of the Afrikaner white man
Nindibona ndingenakhaya nje kungenxa yabelungu
I am seen as homeless because of the whites
Nindibona ndizula nje kungenxa yabelungu
I am seen as a hobo because of the whites
Baleka bhulu
Run white man
Sizobuya
We'll come back
Sizobuy' ekhaya
We'll come back home
Writer(s): Dorothy Manyando Masuka Copyright: Gallo Music Publishers
Contributed by Carter A. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@heatherstub
She had a brilliant career, but even more importantly, she gave the world a message of love and unity! I was introduced to her music at the tender age of 4 years by my Grannie on my father's side of the family. I'll always remember the many days we spent together having British tea made with milk, and we listened to so much music and I got to know it well, too. We also had many turbulent times together, but I'm glad for what they taught me, and more importantly, I'm thankful to God, the Holy Trinity, for allowing us to forgive each other and to tell each other all the wonderful things we couldn't keep inside. Perhaps the one thing I hear about from people after they've lost a loved one is that they never got to say all the things they wanted to say to their loved ones. My hope and prayer is that we take nothing for granted and that we never hide those words inside, especially words of love and remembrance. Social media won't allow this. It can't. We must return for humanity's sake, (and for the love of God), and show and tell each other how we feel if we want this world to be a better place. Violence isn't the answer, either, and Miriam wouldn't tolerate it, and neither should we! It's time to stop pretending that we must rely on governments and elected officials to make the changes for us that will bring harmony and some sense of normalsy back into our world! Anyone who tells us that this isn't possible is not a friend, and they need that love and stability more than ever! The only way we're going to reform this nation is to follow the Golden Rule. Jesus said it like this:
"As you would have others do unto you, so likewise, do unto others." Simply put; if you want to be treated right, you and I need to treat each other right and love one another. We must stop the fear-mongering and false prophets who tell us that it's the end of the world and recommit to working out our challenges by putting our heads together and finding and living the solutions. They're not just "out there", because if they were, we'd have found them. They're within us!
I propose that we all read and follow a book by Dr. Marshall Rosenberg PH.D., entitled "Nonviolent Communication: The Language of Life," and work the exercises and additional workbooks he has online. They apply to every situation and circumstance we all face throughout our lives. A monk recommended it to me and sent me a copy of the book, and even after over a decade, I'm still learning from this amazing way of communicating. This music is such an inspiration to so many people who were facing apartide in South Africa, and it was the people who prevailed. How is it that they could face what seemed an insurmountable problem during the 60s-80s? They worked together! This is what we must do, and we're responsible for what we do and say.
In a time when people don't want to be accountable, we cannot wait for someone else to do the job we only can and must do to end all this misery. We can no longer afford to tell ourselves that nobody will listen to us if we complain, because words without positive action will only lead to even more misery and complacency. As the title of a song says: "This is not America!" (From The Pat Metheny Group with David Bowie from the soundtrack to "The Falcon and the Snowman" Hiding behind our screens and hashing it out on Social Media won't work unless we're willing to get out there and do our part. This will require us to learn and master nonviolent communication, and make it clear that we're here to change the way we do and say what we need, and put our words into action soas to build a strong foundation with the assurance that our children and grandchildren will know that it's a safer, more productive world in which to live. We will always have challenges. We also will have the power within us to face them and overcome them through mutual and positive efforts, because if we don't, it would be to our disadvantage at best. At worst, we will destroy our own future and the future for generations to come!
It's time for us to accept or deny this precious resource; it's up to each and every one of us to do this together and to be accountable, responsible andhelp each other to make this nation and world a better place to live. We have no time to waste! If we say on our money that "In God we trust," let's put our money where our mouths are, and remember that God gave us that power to do what is right. Nobody will do this for us, and to wait is futal. The power is within us, and the will to change can only become a reality when we make this change, because it's been done before. We can do it again and again, and only we will all be the more thankful to God and to one another when we work together as one race; the human race, made in God's Image. For those who don't believe, only by asking how you can find proof of this will you receive more answers if you and I stay curious, and find the answers. That's for another discussion, if anyone's interested.
Let's make things right instead of only whining about what's wrong! We only live once, and we will only benefit from doing and learning together.
@clementmayambala5334
2024 who is still enjoying Makeba with me
@mapettcokenya
❤❤
@angeluslunam3997
A language meant for singing...
@marmottefrance8947
❤ me here in Germany ! ¡¡! I love Miriam makeba since the early sixties❤😊❤❤
@nkcubekoziwele7576
I’m only 20
@hlestakov5937
We love Mama Africa ❤❤❤. I don't know what she would have sang about the " dudula' and the xenophobia in Mzanzi😢
@alexsimwa8657
Any Kenyan watching this in the year 2020, please don't leave without a like.
@samuelauchi584
Kitu tamu, kitu kali
@beatricemaina6863
Nostalgic
@nekaraynor4122
Watching from Bermuda ❤️